The One Minute Manager

by Kenneth H. Blanchard, Spencer Johnson

The One Minute Manager is a book that quickly shows you how to implement very practical management techniques in your life. In the section, you will find several studies in medicine and behavioral sciences that will show you why these simple methods work so well. And the most important - how to apply them in your life!

Summary Notes

The One Minute Manager

“People who feel good about themselves produce good results”

“The best minute I spend is the one I invest in people”

The biggest value of the company are people. Most companies spend 50-70% of their budget on people’s salaries, but only 1% to train them.

Skills to acquire

The First Secret: One Minute Goals

“A problem only exists if there is a difference between what is actually happening and what you desire to be happening”

“Feedback is the Breakfast of Champions”

It is recommended that each goal is no more than one page and no more than 250 words. Goals should be very clear, but the way of getting results can depend on workers. It is good to give workers freedom, but a good manager from the beginning shows how to solve problems and teaches the workers how to do the tasks by themselves. Many people at the beginning are afraid of making decisions by themselves and only see the problems. Very often “a problem” is only in our minds, but if you think about it as steps in a todo list, “the problem” is less frightening and disappears.

Good managers never assume anything when it comes to goal-setting and always clearly explain the expectations. People are motivated by results. In order to have motivation, they should know the intended goal. The second important issue is training. It is hard to find only the “Winners”, but by training people you can build them to be as such. It is stated to not expect having a few “Winners”, a few “Losers” and many average workers; you can have many “Winners” and no “Losers”. “But with everyone, winner or potential winner, One Minute Goal Setting is a basic tool for productive behavior."

Skills to acquire

The Second Secret: One Minute Praisings

“Help people reach their full potential. Catch them doing something right.”

Praising people you manage is the second “secret” of One Minute Management. The first step is observing workers’ activities very closely to catch them doing something right. When you notice it, go to them and make appropriate contact, such as a handshake, or a hand on the shoulder, followed with a positive affirmation. The praising should be done as soon as possible. Be consistent with it, it should not take more than a minute. After awhile, people begin to catch themselves doing things right and start commending themselves.

The key to train the workers and to have the work done well, is to divide the big goals into smaller ones. Every time a person completes a part they should be rewarded. A good manager should not give a big goal to the new or less experienced worker expecting good results only to then punish them if it is not fulfilled or done properly. Assign the smaller goals to the workers best suited for the job in order to complete the bigger end goal.

Skills to acquire

The Third Secret: One Minute Reprimands

“Do not attack a person—only a behavior—it’s easier not to become defensive.”

“We are not just our behavior, we are the person managing our behavior.”

There are not just One Minute Praisings, but also One Minute Reprimands. What is very important when using them is to let people know that they are going to be reprimanded. It should be done immediately and very specifically. Besides describing what they did wrong, it is important to say how you feel about it. This is the first part of the reprimand and should not take more than 30 seconds. In the second part, shake hands, remind them how valuable they are to the company, and that you are commenting only the behaviour not them as a person. Remember that when the reprimand is over, it is over.

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